18 December 2015

(Sort of) Chic Bandages

Anne Barone recommends a type of Band-Aid that will detract the least from your chic.

A bandage on the face can present a real challenge to chic. Over the past several weeks that my face has been disfigured by an infection, I have taken to referring to myself as Frankenanne. But the experience has given me an opportunity to search out what bandage would best give the necessary protection — yet be the least noticeable.

The winner: good ole Band-Aids. But not all of Band-Aids work well.

When I was a child there was one adhesive bandage at the drugstore: Band-Aids. And they came in one size, the 3/4 by 3 inch. Big scrapes on your knees required two, sometimes three, placed side by side. Now at the drugstore, there is a whole shelf of choices of Band-Aids.

The first I tried were some industrial-strength cloth ones in a dingy brown color. Oh dear! The adhesive was so strong that to get them off to change them, almost required pulling off the top layer of skin. They looked awful.

The Band-Aids that worked best for me were the Comfort Sheer variety. They come in a package of assorted sizes and their special flexibility met the challenge that the bandage had to attach to my face, then the side of my nose and then underneath my nose a bit, not bulge and still hold well. (Another brand that was a stiff plastic simply came loose after about 30 minutes and had to be constantly pressed by into place.) Because the Comfort Sheer adhesive bandages are sheer they allow your natural skin color to show through. They are not invisible, but they are more discreet than others I tried.

ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION I WOULD MAKE is for the Neosporin 3-in-1 antibiotic ointment + pain relief. During its active stage, my infection was very painful. The pain reliever in this topical ointment cut down on the amount of aspirin or ibuprofen I had to take. Now that I am healing, the previously infected area tends to itch. As a doctor explained to me, itching is low-grade pain. The pain reliever in the ointment counteracts the itching. Very important because I absolutely must not scratch. A scar or reoccurrence of infection might occur.

UNTIL RECENTLY I never had to worry much about small cuts or scrapes becoming infected. Wash the area, clean it with alcohol, put on a bit of antibiotic ointment and cover it for a day or so. My body took care of the healing. But because this scratch was on the side of my nose, I initially did not bandage it. I think I must have touched the area without thinking when I was out gardening or had some other bacteria on my hand. Perhaps some of my skin care products strayed from a surrounding area and irritated the scratch. In any case, this one got out of hand. And it has been a nightmare to deal with.

In the early 20th century before modern antibiotics, my mother-in-law’s brother died as a teenager from an infection on his face. The knowledge of this made me very nervous as my infection began to worsen. And when I read that any infection near the nostril was especially problematic, I was even more worried.

Be very attentive to any little cut or scratch — especially on your face. We have modern, powerful antibiotics, but the bacteria we encounter daily are meaner than ever.

be chic, stay slim — Anne Barone

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